Lumentum Holdings Inc. announced significant performance enhancements to its 800ZR+ transceivers. These improvements enable the 800ZR+ modules to serve a wider range of applications, including expanded use in metro and regional networks through the ability to interface directly into routers. Additionally, the enhanced performance modes now make 400ZR+ and 600ZR+ operation suitable for true long-haul applications, with OSNR and dispersion tolerance enabling reaches exceeding 2000 km at 400 Gbps.

Lumentum's 800ZR+ transce divers were recently recognized in the 2024 Lightwave Innovation Review Awards and will be demonstrated in a 400 km+ amplified link in booth #2613 at the Optical Fiber Communication Conference (OFC) in San Diego, California. Lumentum has optimized its latest generation of 800ZR+ modules to maximize performance, while maintaining a compact QSFP-DD and OSFP form factor. These modules employ Lumentum's latest hybrid photonic integrated circuit technology, which incorporates both the company's leading edge indium phosphide photonic integrated circuits and silicon photonics.

The performance and use case flexibility provided by these modules mark a significant step in the evolution of high-speed communications networks. Demand for 400ZR and 400ZR+ modules has surged, particularly for data center interconnect (DCI) applications, with the ecosystem of transceiver modules, routers, and system software having reached maturity and critical mass for widespread adoption. Escalating demands for bandwidth to support advanced artificial intelligence and machine learning applications are accelerating the need to transition to higher-speed 800 Gbps modules.

With enhanced performance, including higher output power and reach, these latest coherent pluggable modules are also increasingly able to meet the stringent requirements of traditional telecom metro and long-haul applications, while offering increased deployment flexibility and cost, size, and power savings versus traditional solutions.